Carrick councillor welcomes Loyalist Community Council

The newly formed group is comprised of the three main loyalist paramilitary groups, UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando.

In a joint statement with two UKIP colleagues, Mr Jordan welcomed the Unfinished Work initiative “which has been brought about after eighteen months of hard work on the ground by our Northern Ireland Leader David McNarry and Jonathan Powell (former Downing Street chief of staff) in conjunction with several others”.

The statement added: “As a party and in our own areas, we support all positive moves which can assist lasting peace here in Northern Ireland. Additionally, we welcome the fact that the Community Council intends to address head on the removal of criminality across the province.

“There can be no doubt that many within working class unionist and loyalist areas have felt disenfranchised from the political processes here in recent years. We hear it daily; many people in these areas have felt let down by their political leaders.

“The very serious ongoing problem of educational under achievement is the direct result of a failure in political leadership in a number of areas across our country. We particularly welcome the fact that this new Community Council has listed this as its number one theme. This is an area that all community and political leaders must work together in addressing soon.”